Pluto The Cat - Tumblr Posts

First chapter of Part 2 is comin’ along real well… maybe too poetic…

Also new character?? Gasp! Her name is Pluto of course. No idea why no fanfics mention the cat Delia says she adopted, but I took that and ran with it!

Chapter two of Time’s Arrow is out! I’m so tired. Please read the warnings carefully! As always, here are the fun extras!

Chapter two:

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Mt. Washington” by Local Natives. Both literally relevant and thematically relevant! I am too tired to dive in here. I plan on maybe doing a deepdive on a bunch of the songs for LoopJuice at a later date, if anyone is interested.

- “It was only when she told him that secret phrase that he finally seemed to accept it all. During one of their many repeats of the same discussion during that year they were in the loop, Lydia had asked him for a code, for something she could say that would convince him without question.” - PRO TIP; always have a time loop code! It’ll save you a lot of trouble. Me and my coworkers have one.

- “Of all of the business majors I’ve met in my time, you have to be, by far, the least fashionable. But you’re also the cutest.” - She was a goth English major. He was a business major. Can I make it anymore obvious? /ref. My own little version for how Emily and Charles met! There may be more on it later.

- “Explaining over and over about the time loop, the Netherworld, Juno, Beetlejuice. What he was, what happened, what it all meant.” - To clarify, they did not spill all of Beetlejuice’s beans! They left quite a few things up to him to decide if he wanted to share.

- “Something tugged deep inside her in a particular direction. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she trusted it. She had to.” … “(Somehow, some way, deep down inside, a voice whispered in her ear. An invisible thread tugged in a particular direction. She would pull at that thread later. More important matters were at hand.)” - Hmmmm! I wonder if this will come back and/or be important.

- “Of course, the moment he’d woken up, he’d jumped out a window and gone God/Satan knows where.” - Like with Beetlejuice, Lydia is having her BFFF’s lingo rub off on her as well!

- “Careful when you lift your eyes, for you may just be met with the edge of the blade that swings over your head.” - TO CLARIFY: the bold is Beetlejuice’s thoughts. He’s still kinda fuzzy from his long sleep, so he’s still being weirdly poetic. He is referencing the sword of Damocles here.

- “Her suspicions were further confirmed when she could hear the demon’s absentminded humming as she drew closer. (What was it now? It had been some pop song Barbara had sung while they cooked together for months now. It was a different melody.)” - Barbara was singing “California Girls” by Katy Perry while cooking with Beetlejuice one time, and it got stuck in his head. One of his stims is repeatedly humming certain tunes to himself! It won’t be mentioned, but here he is humming “You Always Hurt The One You Love” like Ruby Lane in the “Fear Street” trilogy.

- “The demon let out a loud ‘mrrrp’” - Yes, once again, Beetlejuice makes a cat activation noise on occasion!

- “(His fingertips and ears still had that horrible dull purple-blue shading to them. Would that ever go away? She was worried it wouldn’t.)” - Yes, this piece of fanart called it! Some of the coloration from the Frost is permanent. I’m still impressed! <3

- “Oh, how horrendous it would’ve been to lose you. How much joy and light the world would’ve lost. It would’ve been a tragedy unlike any other.” - This is from both Beej and Lydia at once, since they both almost lost the other to suicide.

- “But oh, the words were so hard. Especially as they chewed their lip and stared into his confused, glowing yellow eyes. Why was it so hard?” - TALKING ABOUT FEELINGS IS HARD… Lydia is no expert and neither am I!

- “… it’s… y’know. Moss!” - Moss! Yeah, he was avoiding confronting emotions and his loved ones, but also… moss!

- “Pluto. Her name is Pluto.” …“… really? That’s a little on the nose.” - This is a bit of a callout on myself. It is a bit too on the nose.

- “Pluto’s purr is nice and smooth, like a car engine. Yours sounds like a fifty-year old lawn mower that’s fueled by sugar water as it’s driving over the wettest, muddiest lawn in the world.” - Beetlejuice’s purr is all fucked up like his voice, of course.

- “(She already had a list of name ideas. Gomez, Lisa, Wybie, Lenore, etc.)” - of course, these are all ideas from some of Lydia’s favorite stories. Gomez from “The Addams Family”, Lisa from “Lisa Frankenstein”, Wybie from “Coraline”, and Lenore from Edgar Allen Poe’s “Lenore”.

- “Idiots.” - Yeah, Lyds. That’s how we all feel, bestie.

- “(Lydia could swear she felt her arm burning under the bandages, under her sleeve.)” - I WONDER IF THIS WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER

- “ “Teeth grow back. (Lydia caught sight of a doubtful look on Adam’s face.) …” - While, yes, human teeth does not come back, Beetlejuice’s teeth do!

- “Lydia tightened her grip on Pluto, staring at the ghost intensely in a way she hoped was encouraging.” - Autism to autism communication… I will simply stare at you and hope you feel the good vibes I am attempting to send

- “ “I’m serious. You stood up to your abuser for us, Beetlejuice. That must’ve been very hard.” The demon sat very still, aside from his eyes gently flicking between Barbara’s own. Slowly, the pink washed away to a navy blue. ” - This is the first time someone has ever acknowledged to Beetlejuice, out loud, that his mother is an abuser. It causes a lot of emotions, of course.

- “It’s real late, and I know you three are probably bushed, so I’ll just head down to-” - Beetlejuice wanted to back down to the basement to hide from all of the humans.

- “I… don’t know. I guess I… thought she might have meant well, at some point.” - this is a sentiment a lot of people abused by their parents express, me included. It’s hard to let go of all of the things they have said to you, because they must have meant well, right? They’re your parent. Unfortunately, that often isn’t true.

- “ “It doesn’t change the fact that she does and says things that hurt you, and continues to hurt you. That… discredits most things she says.” The demon bit their lip with a light nod, their eyes darting about. “Y-yeah,” they eventually mumbled. “Th-… that’s… true, I guess.” ” - I HAVE THIS REACTION TO PEOPLE ACKNOWLEDGING MY PAIN. What the heck. Why are brains so awkward?? ‘Okay i guess that’s true thanks’ is a real sentence I’ve said to my therapist so many times. Ugh.

- “Sucks to suck, buddy.” - this is a phrase I say often. I’ve had people be confused about it, so I suppose it’s not that common?

- Beetlejuice and food - this is a bit of a warning now, BJ’s relationship with food is not very healthy and it will continue to decline from here. Food aversion is an unfortunate possible side effect of burnout, stress, overstimulation, etc.

- Barbara’s explanation - If you look back, you can see how suspicious Barbara was of Beetlejuice’s plan from the moment they brought it up. She was doing some plotting of her own!

- Call of the void - this is a genuine phenomenon some people experience, although this is obviously not the only cause of Lydia’s attempt. Just a fitting name for it.

- “Lydia could tell, then, that she certainly had a heart.” - this is a reference to Penelope Scott’s “Feel Better”, which is a song that fits both Lydia and Beetlejuice imo!

- Oop the poem

- This poem is sort of… non-diegetic. Like stated before, the bold is Beetlejuice, the italics is Lydia. It is meant to reflect their thoughts in this scene and chapter in general, it is meant to be read both as a conversation and as disconnected thoughts they are separately having. Do you ever have such good emotional development that you psychically write a poem with your bestie?

- “Just for a moment, your life could be just what you wanted.” … “Just for once, just for a moment.” - this is a reference to the song “Just for Once” from “Nerdy Prudes Must Die”, because that song goes SO HARD and is very thematically relevant here.

- “You give your all, and you get so much given back.” - this is a reference to “When He Sees Me” from “Waitress”, because, again, it goes so hard and is so relevant.

- “At the end of everything, hold on to anything.” - This is a reference to “Night in the Woods”. I’ve said it before, Beetlejuice and Mae Borowski have a lot in common.

- “The things you do for love come back to you one by one.” - this is a reference to “Love Love Love” by The Mountain Goats. It is one of the gentler songs on the LoopJuice playlists, and reflects more feelings of acceptance and uneasy peace.

- “… it burns out bright and blinding like a dying star.” - Hmm. Perhaps this is foreshadowing? Nah, that’d be crazy.

- “No one is gone, the love they felt and received does not fade. It is simply held in those they loved, or redistributed once more.” - Lydia is, of course, talking about her mother. I know it’s obvious, I just wanted to make sure it is highlighted. Since this story is mostly from Beetlejuice’s POV, we don’t get to really see the other characters’ emotional developments clearly, so I try to highlight them as often as I can.

- “She.. understood? I know less about Barbara than I thought.” - Barbara lore hints! Put a pin in this.

- All the little reasons for Beetlejuice to stick around - it’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received. Make it to your next sunset, make it to this new movie premiere. You have to taste this new food, see this sight. Start with little things, little reasons to stick around and enjoy life.

- “(Lydia felt like perhaps she shouldn’t be seeing this.)” … “I definitely feel like I shouldn’t be here for this.” - you ever witness your ghost parents and your demon brother having a romantically charged moment? Lydia certainly wishes she didn’t.

- “Oh! Don’t forget all the skirts and dresses I wanted to go through with you in the basement!” - I PROMISE WE WILL GET SKIRT AND DRESS FITS FOR BEEJ LATER

- “… will you?” ... “Will I what?” … “Give yourself a chance. Stick around.” - this is another reference to Stephen King’s “Laurie”. I love it to bits.

- “Well, except for his tail. It was quivering. (Lydia had only seen it do that a handful of times, when Beetlejuice was really excited, like when he was waiting to leap out at an unsuspecting Mormon knocking at the door.)” - sometimes, when cats are very excited, their tails quiver like this! It happens when they’re playful, like about to chomp on the arm of a door-to-door solicitor, or when they’re very happy, like when they receive a little forehead kiss.

- “Barbara and Adam exchanged a look then. They seemed… amused, excited, and - eugh. Those three better sort that shit out soon. It’s basically torture to have to witness it.” - Lydia is with y’all. Do not worry.

- “… I’m not.. the most graceful with exits, you guys know this-” - this is another reference to the failed smoke bomb trick he does in the show!

- “Thank you, love you too, kiddo.” - Adam sounds a little dismissive here because he is concentrating, but Lydia knows that!

- “Adam is switching on the “electric blanket”, Barbara is making some sort of joke as she once more plants a kiss on his forehead. He thinks he hears the word ‘hot’.” - Beetlejuice has no idea what some things are, including electric blankets. He is so lost in the sauce he didn’t hear Barbara call him hot.

- “Who could ever really want you? You wear out your purpose eventually. You overstay your welcome. Sharp, sudden pain washes over him from the old scar in his side. Honestly, Betelgeuse, I don’t know why I’m disappointed. Everyone knows how pathetic you are.” - Callback! And more dialogue/context to this hinted scene. Maybe we will see more of it later!

- “His heart, his own personal heart is broken over and over and over again.” - yet another “Asteroid City” reference! Also reflects a bit how I feel writing at times.

- “He has been emptied out. He is so tired, so drained. His whole body aches, and his mind still thrums.” - All my burnt out besties say… eughhhhh…. Emotional conversations are super draining!

- “It isn’t the start of something. Isn’t it? It isn’t. It isn’t.” - What’s that? By god, it’s “Asteroid City” once again! The context of this scene is two characters discussing whether or not they’re at the start of a new relationship, like how Beej is arguing about the same thing with himself.

- “You are a fox being allowed to stay in the henhouse.” - in a way, he still views himself as an intruder, as something harmful. It takes a while to get rid of harmful thinking, even after coming to the realization that it’s wrong.

- “The sword still swings. The thread is thin.” - another sword of Damocles shout out!

- “The perfect visage of a reformed villain, of a tamed demon.” - He feels a pressure to be good right away, to fit the stereotype of a reformed villain. A lot of those characters are depicted in unrealistic ways! Except Zuko. Zuko is perfect.

- “Don’t be too much. Heavy is the cost.” - this is a partial reference to “Personal” by Stars!

- “Parts of you are already gone.” - This is a partial reference to “Please Eat” by Nichole Dollanganger.

- “If you are not a jester, you are The Fool. Wear the bells well.” - The Fool is capitalized because he is specifically thinking of the tarot card. Also, Fizzaroli reference! That little guy is a strong contender for favorite Alex Brightman character.

- “It’s like they said; don’t stop dancing until the curtain’s down.” - Yet another “BoJack Horseman” reference, and a very poignant one! Beej is, in his mind, a performer on a stage, and he cannot let the audience see him falter.

Chapter three of Time’s Arrow is out, “A mask of my own face, I’d wear that”! Please read the warnings carefully. You’re welcome Beetlelands fans! Also sorry Beetlelands fans. As always, here are the extras!

Chapter Three:

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title is from “A Mask of My Own Face” by Lemon Demon! I feel like this one is perhaps the most self-explanatory of the chapter titles, haha.

- The songs for this chapter are “Darren” by Jack Stauber, “Ghosting” by Mother Mother, “A Mask of My Own Face” by Lemon Demon, “Parrot” by Stepdad, “Snail” by Cavetown, and ESPECIALLY “Stray Italian Greyhound” by Vienna Teng.

- The basement is partially cleared out to prepare for Lydia’s dark room in the basement! And also a special Other Thing.

- “… new rugs to replace the ones he bled all over.” - Yes, Beetlejuice managed to ruin two rugs with his blood. That sucks.

- “His right eye’s vision was still fuzzy. (Perhaps it wouldn’t ever fully come back, like his hearing.)” - Yes, unfortunately it is permanent. He’s hard of hearing on one side, visually impaired on the other. Poor buddy.

- “Thankfully, his teeth had grown back quickly. They were always one of the first parts of him to regenerate anyways. (Much quicker than his organs, that one night. Or his legs. The memory still made him shudder.)” - Yikes, I wonder what or who this is referring to!

- “.. friendly neighborhood reformed demon.” - Yeah, a silly little Spider-Man reference for brevity.

- “(He found he still had no idea how to tie a tie. Thank God/Satan whoever had washed his suit had left it tied.)” - This is sort of a callout on myself. My friend tied my Beetlejuice suit’s tie for me once, and I’ve just left it tied since I can’t tie a tie for the life of me.

- Black onyx - apparently, black onyx represents strength, and is one of the most powerful crystals! At least, according to my friend.

- Lydia dying her hair - Lyds is a natural blonde! She dyes her hair black for Reasons.

- “Can’t keep a good… not-guy down!” - This is both a reference to “Child’s Play” and another fun non-binary joke.

- Adam’s tapping - I and a handful of other neurodivergent people I know do this, gentle tapping to signal we want affection. I have been told it is endearing.

- “I’M SO NORMAL-” - This is something I like to proclaim when I am being Not Normal. Like how Beetlejuice is being Not Normal.

- “He couldn’t tell what either of them were thinking, their expressions were new. It was certainly frustrating.” - Hm! I wonder what expressions Beetlejuice has never seen before on another being.

- The Freeze, Brimstone Flu, Red Moss - these are all demon diseases/illnesses that I made up. They will probably only make minor, silly appearances.

- “(Beetlejuice had to seriously fight the urge to bite her arm.)” - Beej has the urge to out of affection, but holds back due to his sharp teeth and it generally not being socially acceptable.

- “Dial up that smile.” - This is a reference to my other current hyperfixation, “Late Night with the Devil”.

- “Beetlejuice exited the guest bedroom to find Lydia waiting for him just outside, repeatedly kissing Pluto’s forehead as the cat laid contentedly in her arms. She let out a little ‘GAH’ as the door opened, standing up straight.” - CAUGHT BEING SOFT IN 4K

- Lydia, sorting - one of her favorite activities is sorting, as you may have noticed. Sometimes she un-sorts her belongings so she can re-sort them when she is stressed out.

- Lydia, biting - she also bites out of affection/when she is excited. She does not care if it is socially acceptable when she is around Beetlejuice.

- “The teen eagerly motioned for Barbara to come closer, holding up an old, yellowed version of The Wheel of Fortune.” - I wonder if this particular card means anything?

- “Some of them are hand-painted!” - Thank you to the movie “Tarot” for informing me of hand-painted Tarot cards. Also fuck you, because they’re expensive.

- “Some of the decks are incomplete.” .. “That’s what happens when you got a lotta things for a lotta years. Some of it just… goes missin’.”- What a suspicious answer from Beetlejuice. I wonder what he did with those cards?

- “I know you didn’t mean it, but that was rude, Beetlejuice.” … “Wh-rude? It was?” - this is an experience I and a lot of other fellow autistics experience. We have to be informed when we’ve been rude because we truly did not mean to be!

- “… they sat next to each other in silence while they separately sorted through various piles of moss and rocks they’d collected on previous outings in the woods.” - one of the ways these two often hang out is parallel play. I love you parallel play…

- “Lydia forced Beetlejuice to do some strange dance in front of her phone with her. They only understood half of the words she said while explaining it, but it certainly made her happy.” - Yes, Lydia made Beetlejuice do a tiktok dance because it is funny. I don’t know any of them so I can’t give you a specific, so you can imagine the funniest one here.

- “Already, his mouth was watering at the smells of soy sauce and chives wafting out from the kitchen.” - mouth watering is not always a good thing. Sometimes it means a vom is imminent.

- The Great Gatsby - beetlejuice is not stupid (sometimes), he just takes longer to process some things! This is honestly the first time someone has recognized this within him, and he has yet to fully process that. Also I love The Great Gatsby. There are Jay and BJ parallels that only make sense to me.

- Freaky - I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I watched it with my father and it was quite amusing, so I thought it would be funny to have Lydia experience watching this film with a few of her parents.

- Adam and Barbara conspired to have Beetlejuice have his Talk with Charles, by the way. They also, obviously, conspired to cuddle up with him.

- “I’ll be right back,” … “Beetlejuice, that’s violating rule number three!” - Yeah, this is a “Scream” reference. No I am not sorry. Yes it will happen again maybe.

- “Oh no. … Oh no, not now. … Please, not now. … But, of course, some sort of ridiculous “Feeling” had to come along.” - These are pulled from one of the pivotal songs on Time’s Arrow’s playlist, “Stray Italian Greyhound” by Vienna Teng. Please listen to it during That Part of the chapter.

- “Was it love? Were they in love? They couldn’t be. They were a demon, they were unforgivable, they were rotten and broken-” - Part of this is a reference to “Good Omens”, part of this is another callback to his mother’s hurtful words from chapter 3 of Time is a Flat Circle. They really seem to stick with him, huh?

- “The ritual was much harder than Beetlejuice remembered. Perhaps it was their drained energy, but they didn’t remember it burning so much.” - That’s so weird. I wonder what this ritual entailed? Couldn’t have been good. But he got a Book out of it!

- “ “Your humans?” This seemed to pique his interest, as his silhouetted form suddenly drew in much closer. “Have you a coven now, little lamb?” ” - I wonder why Cyrus was so interested in BJ having a coven? Also say hi to my rotten bastard everyone! You will hate him.

- “little lamb” - Cyrus calls BJ this due to his sheep features! Also to demean him. (If you couldn't tell from his other nickname being “pet”.)

- “Tomorrow is another day.” - shameless FNAF 4 reference. FNAF made me who I am. It reprogrammed my brain as a child.

Chapter four of Time’s Arrow, “Suddenly, nothing is as it was, Where are you now, Orpheus?” Is out now! Goodnight. Make sure to read the warnings carefully!! This one is a doozy!

As always, extras!

- The lyrics for this title’s chapter are from “Hey, Little Songbird” from ‘Hadestown’! I’m sure we can all connect the dots with this one, hehe.

- “Are ya finally takin’ me out back to give me the Old Yeller treatment?” “Not today.” - based on a real conversation I had with my sister one morning as she dragged me out of bed!

- “He went to hop up out of the bed, squinting at the horrible, pounding migraine that was slowly blossoming in his skull. Christ on a boat, has the room always been this bright?” - It has! He’s just struggling with enhanced sensory issues.

- “sipping from a coffee mug that read ‘Happy Father’s Day from your favorite financial burden’.” - Based on a mug my friend got for their dad!

- “Ah, shit.” … “C’mon, Chuck, conversation is not mandatory.” - To clarify: Beej is not irritated that Charles is trying to speak to him! He just thinks that he feels obligated to talk to him, and that that’s really awkward.

- “Beetlejuice grit his teeth as Charles paused to take a sip of his coffee and swallow louder than he was sure any human ever needed to.” - again, sensory issues! Charles didn’t swallow that loud at all.

- The oatmeal cream pie incident - based on a real incident with my own sister. The same sister as before. Yes, word for word.

- “Goodness! I was worried I’d have to grab my bear mace!” - Based on something my own stepmother said, oh my god.

- “Delia’s ‘organically’ cherry-scented chapstick” - Beej can smell that it’s not actually organic! But he won’t break Delia’s heart by telling her that.

- “… on second thought, Beej, why don’t you stay here?” Lydia finished up tying her boots, hopping to her feet. “Wh- huh? Why?” “I don’t wanna overwhelm the poor cat with too many people at once, y’know?” Beetlejuice frowned a bit. What did I do wrong? “.. I guess.” I would scare the cat, wouldn’t I? I can be less scary.” - Misunderstanding, woo! Beej thinks Lydia thinks he is too scary to go with them to get the kitten, and that she may be embarrassed to be seen with him in public. Lydia understands he is spooked at the idea of being in a car and doesn’t want him to experie nce that while he’s already going through something else.

- “ “Oh! Hey, give me your jacket.” The demon immediately went to remove his jacket…” - Too bad Barbara and Adam were too busy to witness jacket-less Beetlejuice!

- “… clacking his teeth a few times. He halted when Charles raised an eyebrow in his direction.” - Charles isn’t perturbed by this stim, Beej just assumes he is. It’s just an odd noise to hear out of nowhere!

- “ “Sorry, Bug, we… have some cleaning to do in the basement!” Barbara called from… Beetlejuice squinted. Why was she and Adam walking towards the stairs from the garage like that? Were they… sneaking? Don’t they hate the basement?” - I wonder what the Maitlands are doing in the basement?

- “ “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Beetlejuice halted, furrowing his brows. He wasn’t quite sure what she’d meant. Maybe he didn’t say goodbye properly? Did she want more affection? He then slowly stepped back over to Lydia, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead once he reached her. He then turned to bolt towards the stairs once again. Lydia groaned loudly. “No, clean up your mess in the kitchen!” She turned to open the door, shaking her head. “Damn, who raised you?” ” - based on a splendid scene from one of my favorite shows ever, Brooklyn-99.

- “Beetlejuice, totally not enjoying an episode of ‘Jane the Virgin’ with Delia as they sat together on the couch…” - he absolutely was enjoying watching ‘Jane the Virgin’ with his new bestie.

- “Lydia reached into the box and pulled out a scruffy, disheveled little black kitten. He had small white patches on his face, paws, and stomach, and looked like he was born in a dumpster.” - based on my sister’s kitten, Pinto Bean! He is more white than black, and we got him from a farm. He looked like a little garbage baby.

- “ “‘Percy’?” “Yeah, he came with that name. Apparently they were themed? I’ll probably change it.” ” - The whole litter was, unfortunately, named after the Weasley family from (ugh) Harry Potter. Also, yes, he is partially based on Lydia’s cat from the animated series!

- “ “Why? You are small.” “I’m taller than you!” “Not for long. I’m due for a second growth spurt soon.” ” - Beetlejuice is 5’3”! Lydia is too, but not for long.

- “It reeked of some aromatic herb he couldn’t discern.” - he does not Know His Herbs.

- “You’ll have to send me away to a remote cabin by the sea to ‘clear my mind’, like they did to women back in the day. I’ll go even more insane and rip off all the wallpaper. Maybe set the place on fire.” - another ‘Yellow Wallpaper’ reference!

- “.. either up from the secret project in the basement…” - hmm, once again, I wonder what this is!

- “… while she was taking a break from… Y’know. Downstairs.” - being downstairs for too long freaks the Maitlands out. Y’know. ‘Cause their bodies were down there.

- Lydia’s questions - some of the proper questions to ask while someone is having a meltdown! Never touch or approach someone without permission. Ask if they want to be alone or not.

- “.. I like ‘Frankenstein’ as much as the next guy, but three times? Overkill.” - Based on my experience with ‘The Great Gatsby’. I read it three years in a row. My sister read it two years in a row. I now own five copies of that book.

- “I heard the other class is reading ‘Flowers for Algernon’. And that it totally sucks. Super depressing.” - don’t read ‘Flowers for Algernon’ unless you wanna cry.

- “Barbara nodded a little. “I know how to get blood out of wool. It’s really easy.” ” - both because she likes true crime and ‘cause, y’know, she’s a woman! People with periods know how to get blood stains out.

- “ “M-my hair’s starting to grey. Sometimes, I look in the mirror and I see-” he halted, a shudder wracking through his whole body.” - sometimes, he looks in the mirror and sees his mother. It terrifies him. (Based on personal experience)

- “I’ve never been this tired before. Not since… I was alone, in the loop. I feel like if I let myself lay down, if I stop.. performing, pretending I’m doing great, I’ll… I’ll never wake up again.” - oop. Based on personal experience yet again.

- “ “… Bee, I… it sounds like you’re burnt out.” The demon whirled around to face Adam suddenly, eyes wide. “… b-.. burnt… out?” ” - Beej is terrified here because he thinks Adam means the other meaning we find out about later!

- “ “When we push ourselves too much, sometimes our minds and bodies push back. If you don’t let yourself properly rest and recuperate, your body will make you.” Adam glanced down as he went to wrap Beetlejuice’s arm, but otherwise kept his eyes on his face. “It feels like you’re sick because you are. You haven’t been properly taking care of yourself.” ” - just gonna put this here, for those that need to read it. Your brain is an organ, and can get sick just like any other organ.

- “… excuse me for a moment. I’m about to lose my temper.” - based on a line from ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox’.

- The scream - based on the scream from the touring version of the show. You know what I’m talkin’ about.

- “crunching of leaves under his shoes.” - back on his illusion bullshit already

- “Autumn is on it’s way, his mind gently supplies, the thought drifting in slow and sluggish. The cold will come. It is inevitable.” … “Steady now. It will only consume you if you let it. But the cold will come.” - wow, foreshadowing? In my fic? Sure is!

- “I let you in.” - although I’ve heard it in many pieces of media with demons, the most famous use of this phrase is in ‘Talk To Me’.

- The art is once again done by the fabulous @/splasharooni !! Here it is again bc I love it so much <33

- “They stand up straight, trying not to cower as he rises to his full height, towering over them by a good foot, at least.” - Cyrus is 6’4”!

- “his long cigarette holder” - like they had back in the ‘20’s, ‘cause he’s a classy old bitch.

- “If they had held them for too long, Beetlejuice’s felt their own limited warmth be slowly but surely sapped away. But now, he was… warm. Goosebumps chased up their arm as he gently turned their hand over, inspecting their purple-ish-blue-hued fingers with his cool gaze.” - I wonder if this has any thematic implications.

- “ “.. couldn’t leave... the house that breather lived in.” They briefly chewed on the inside of their cheek. Careful. Careful.” … “The mark burned into Lydia’s arm, although they are very careful not to say her name, or who she is.” - Demons work by Fae rules, Beej has to be careful not to let their names slip in front of them!

- “Beetlejuice sees hints of starlight through the canopy. They wonder if the sky is clear enough for them to locate their own star. Or Cyrus’. Or-” - Each demon’s true name is based on a star! Like how Beetlejuice’s name is actually Betelgeuse, Cyrus’ name isn’t actually Cyrus.

- “His gaze is gentle and understanding and… alluring. (Was he really that bad? A voice whispers in the fog.)” - YES HE IS. GET A JOB. LEAVE MY BOY ALONE.

- Burning Out / Extinguished - when a demon is killed/dies, these are the terms used to refer to it. ‘Burning Out’ means their internal flame is dying due to any variety of circumstances.

- Seal vs. Ward - a seal is to keep a demon tied to one place/thing/person, a ward keeps demons away from one place/person/thing!

- “Of course. I’m never outside of her control, am I?” - based on my own personal experience once again. Sometimes, no matter what you do, a part of you is unfortunately always influenced by your abuser.

- “ “I know you don’t… partake, still.” Cyrus looks down at Beetlejuice again, raising an eyebrow mirthfully. “You never could stomach it.” A shudder ran up their spine once more. Beetlejuice cast their eyes down to the ground. “.. no.” The thick, sticky taste of iron stings in the back of their throat. Guilt creeps into their hazy mind.” - by ‘partake’, he means consuming human blood, or even flesh. Beej never had the stomach for it. He had to do it once, and he regrets it.

- “Darling, I only want your time.” - Yes, the perfect Deal. Surely there are no exploitable loopholes.

- “So it is done.” - another ‘Late Night with the Devil’ reference!

- “Unlike then, however, Beetlejuice could see the shape of his tail wagging underneath his skirt.” - I wonder why he’s so excited this time?

- “His right ear panged, and he instinctively reached up to fidget with it, halting when he was met with.. something new, some sort of earring now piercing that lobe. It was cool to the touch.” - yes, Cyrus straight up pierced Beej’s ear without consent. But he got a cool little piece of gold jewelry out of it!

New chapter of Time’s Arrow, “Good luck, babe! You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling” is up! Everyone say “thank you, concussion.” (Don’t actually. It sucks.) THIS CHAPTER IS PARTICULARLY ROUGH. PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS CAREFULLY AND PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

As always, here are the extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Good Luck, Babe!” By Chappell Roan! I think it is pretty self explanatory, haha.

- The songs for this chapter are “A Deer Mistaking Candles for Headlights” by Crywank, “Racehorse: Get Married!” By Jordaan Mason, “bad idea!” By girl in red, “Gross” by Penelope Scott, “maggot belly” by awfultune, “Lavender” by Penelope Scott, “Personal” by Stars, “Little Soldiers” by The Crane Wives, “Butch 4 Butch” by Rio Romeo, and, of course, “Good Luck, Babe!” By Chappell Roan!

- “ “Go! Class starts in…” he leaned away, squinting hard at the clock on the wall just outside the kitchen. “… some.. amount of time.” “… I need to take you to the optometrist.” The teen opened the door and went to step outside, ignoring the demon’s ‘huh?’.” - Beetlejuice’s eyesight suuuuucks. They’ve never been to an eye doctor, or even heard of one. They really need glasses. Perhaps they will get some soon!

- “The very thought of the feeling of food in his mouth, of the savory and salty tastes and mushy textures overwhelming his senses made his stomach turn. But the tug at his non-functional heart strings at the image of Barbara’s disheartened expression was stronger, more painful.” - Not the best motivation to eat, but honestly, any motivation can be good motivation when you’re having trouble getting yourself to eat!

- “Did anyone see you? You barely pass as human, and you’re a stranger in this town. Did anyone bother you? Are you alright?” “Geez, Chuck, when-” “Where have you been?! Do you know how late it is, young man?” - Get parent-ed, idiot!

- “‘Young man’? I am neither of those.” - This is a cheeky reference to a similar joke in “Good Omens”!

- “… English isn’t my best language.” “What others do you know?” “.. let’s put a pin in that convo, D-Dog. Your energy is distracting in the best way.” “Aww, thank you!” - a little peak at Beej and Delia’s friendship. I will probably expand more on it if I ever write the extra chapters!

- “Charles furrowed his brows. “Where did you get that laptop?” ” … “… where did you get that one?” - He stole them.

- “ “The what?” Charles sat up straight, brows knit in… concern? Beetlejuice wasn’t sure.” - he is not used to parental concern! Get cared about, fool!

- “… ‘Surely the average White River townie will be petrified by your demonic beauty!’” He chuckled to himself. He thought perhaps he imagined Barbara, Adam, and Delia laughing as well. “First of all, thank you, you’re too kind.” ” - A little peep at the smug, braggy little guy he used to be! And yes, they did laugh at his joke in agreement. He just doesn’t want to hear it because he can’t accept love.

- “Semi-tamed curly hair, now brown with irritating grey streaks he couldn’t get rid of. Manic honey-brown eyes instead of yellow serpentine ones, blemishes on his face instead of moss. Skin now pink, but still pale.” - yeah, basically just Alex Brightman, just with brown, curly hair. Surprise!

- “…wrist-length black driving gloves to cover his blackened fingertips.” - This, along with a line later on, is heavily inspired by the character Theo from “The Haunting of Hill House”. See if you can spot it! She similarly is very sensitive, and wears gloves to avoid direct physical contact with others.

- “They hate it. Fuck. Maybe next-day delivery holy water is still an option?” - ABSOLUTELY NOT

- “They look like a substitute teacher.” - Dewey Finn reference! I see a lot of Beetlejuice fans talking about the “School of Rock” musical. I’ve only seen the movie, and I love it. Should I give it a listen?

- “ “They look… nice.” Adam’s cheeks were flushed a dark pink. Barbara let out a delighted giggle as she rubbed her hands over his facial hair. “What a professional little man!” ” - They think he is so handsome. Barbara cannot control her cuteness aggression.

- “Lydia, pumpkin, I don’t want the people of this town thinking of me as a scoundrel. He obviously is too old to be E-.. Emily’s son.” - He’s trying his best to keep Emily relevant and talked about!! It’s just a bit hard still. Also, yeah, no one would really believe the man with greying hair was spawned from Charles and Emily.

- “He hadn’t been opposed to people thinking he was his son.” - he has never been called someone’s son in a positive way! New experience unlocked!

- “He was… happy. Light. Warm. He felt like he could rip apart a car with his teeth.” - like yours truly, Beetlejuice gets the urge to bite and rip things apart with his teeth when he is excited.

- “ “… I’ll tell folks I’m a distant Maitland relative. Maybe a cousin!” Beetlejuice grabbed Lydia’s arm, going to pull her out the door, missing the way Adam and Barbara wrinkled their noses at the word ‘cousin’.” - I wonder why they were so opposed to him being called a cousin? Hmmm.

- “Beetlejuice slides the Book across the counter and holds out a pen. “Have you heard about our Loyalty Program?” ” - what a weird, suspicious insistence he has. I wonder why that ‘Book’ is capitalized. Surely that must be an error? ;)

- “He bolts off, excusing that he needs to go find Percy and put him in ‘extreme air jail’.” - ‘Extreme air jail’ is when he floats off the ground while holding Percy up. Like regular air jail, but extreme.

- “Aftershave. Tung oil. Black tea. Tea-tree oil and nicotine.” - the smells, respectively, are from Charles, Adam, Barbara, and Delia! Delia smells like her vape pen a bit.

- “Lydia released the demon’s hands, slowly stepping behind them. “I’m behind you, alright? I’m gonna take your blindfold off.” ” - Lydia educated herself on his triggers and is careful not to come up behind him/touch his back or chest without letting him know first!

- “The walls had a familiar striped wallpaper applied to them..” - they recreated the striped walls from when Beej took over the house!

- “… pocketed figurines of various horror characters and stupid-looking colorful monsters. (Adam had called them “pokay-men”?)” - Beetlejuice stole a bunch of Pokémon funko pops without knowing anything about them, except that Adam likes them.

- Two “Lisa Frankenstein” references! The poster, as well as the name of a character later.

- “The ceiling was lined with familiar gentle string lights, the bulbs giving off a soft yellow glow.” - gentle lighting for his sensitive eyes, courtesy of Adam and Barbara! He never really turns on the overhead lights.

- “A large, fuzzy, purple rug covered most of the hard concrete floor.” - Delia picked this out for him! She knows how much he loves Floor Time.

- “… seemingly home-made black and white quilt..” - Barbara made it herself!

- “.. and a rotund black cat plush Lydia had ordered off of Amazon and claimed was for herself.” - it is a squishmallow. Beej still has no idea what they are, but Lyds got one just for him!

- “.. even a rocking chair covered in a bright green fleece blanket in the corner-” - Charles picked out that blanket after seeing how much Beetlejuice enjoyed the fleece blanket on the guest bed!

- “Like Dad said, you deserve your own space, big guy.” - ‘Dad’ is capitalized like that because Lydia considers Charles both her and Beej’s dad now.

- “They still aren’t sure what to do, way later that night, as they lie in their very own bed for the first time. They’d never had a space of their own.” - yeah, he’s never had his own bed. Or room. He mostly slept on the floor growing up, sometimes under a stove!

- “.. as he stared up at the multitude of gently glowing green stars plastered on the ceiling.” - Delia heard that his name is based on a star, so she got these and carefully plotted them out to match the real night sky/constellations!

- “ “I was only thirteen, Beetlejuice.” … “I dunno, Sexy. Arson is a pretty mild form of revenge. I was doin’ a lot worse for a lot less at that age.” ” - Beetlejuice had suggested that Adam should’ve set a bully’s backpack on fire.

- “And you don’t wanna put your weapon up against your victim’s back. Makes it real easy for them to just take it from ya.” - This is true! A little bit of self defense advice!

- “Do you get all your mugging tools at Home Depot? God/Satan, you’re butch.” And “My tit!” - These are both “Jennifer’s Body” references. I couldn’t help myself.

- “… red sleeveless sweater, frowning at the blood-stained button-up underneath. “My.. good friend gave me this stupid, tacky sweater vest…” ” - Yeah he dresses like his human disguise like Dewey Finn because of Adam.

- “It was tacky and itchy and smelled like mothballs, but it was still something one of his favorite ghosts had given him.” - Beetlejuice savors every single thing given to him, because no one really ever gave him presents before.

- “Don’t say Barbara, don’t say Barbara- “Ba-.. Bab… Babette.” What the fuck was that? Babette? “Yeah. Babette… ” ” - Of course, the town remembers Adam and Barbara, so he has to call them by other names. ‘Babette’ is what he thought of on the spot.

- Suprise! Ash is Sky the Girl Scout’s sister! Her full name is “Ashlyn Swallows”, but she only wants to go by “Ash”.

- “Fuuuuck.” … “ “.. damn. That… that, uh… poor girl..” Fuck, the Maitlands and Charles and Delia are going to be so mad when they hear about this.” - Asshole Beej, my beloved. He only cares about his own humans, and not at all how he impacts anyone outside his circle.

- “…and a fair wage from my own pocket.” - So the business doesn’t suffer from the absurd amount of money he is going to pay this kid.

- “Beetlejuice’s ear flicked at the sound of her heartbeat quickening, the jewelry clinking irritably.” - Yeah he hates the jewelry, but he had a hard time saying ‘no’ to Cyrus’ gifts.

- “… yeah. I didn’t realize she’d remember, though.” - Hmm. I wonder if anyone else remembers things that occurred during the loop?

- “… and Barbara enjoyed the occasional sniff of his glass.” - Since she can’t drink the wine, Beetlejuice is letting her smell it instead. Not the same, but it’s still nice!

- “Barbara was sat right up next to him on the couch, leaning on his side and keeping an arm loosely around his midsection.” … “They try their best not to melt at Barbara’s touch as she starts to gently scratch at their chin.” … “His ears went back at the delighted little squeak from Barbara, but he relaxed as she wrapped her arms around him and tightly squeezed. “There he is!” Beetlejuice felt his tail quivering as he wrapped one arm around her in turn. “Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m the most handsome devil you’ve ever seen.” The ghost softly huffed. “It’s true!” ” - Barbara is laying it on THICK. Too bad Beetlejuice’s skull is thicker!

- “.. the demon jumped as Delia leaned in close, scrunching up his nose at the smell of wine on her breath, the sudden increase in all of the sounds of her body functioning. Lungs expanding, blood flowing, joints creaking. It was much harder to ignore when she was that close.” - Beej is constantly overwhelmed by the noises everything makes, especially since he’s not taking care of his sensory needs.

- “The demon slowly let out a breath once Delia leaned back into her place again, his grip on Barbara tightening. Why was it so hard to allow humans to be close?” - BECAUSE HE DOESN’T PAY ATTENTION TO HIS SENSORY NEEDS. And also people suck sometimes.

- “He glanced down at the ghost, hurriedly looking away and taking a swig of his wine when he found her staring up at him with a soft, fond look in her eyes.” - Oh, he’s big stupid. Thankfully, Barbara likes her men just a wee bit stupid.

- “Beetlejuice slurred, finishing off his glass. He went to release Barbara and reach out to refill it, but she gripped onto him tighter.” … “He felt the wine glass be tugged from his grip.” - Barbara decided he had enough, and is gently cutting him off here.

- “(If anything, at least the alcohol was dulling the horrid sounds of the house settling, of the wind blowing and clouds churning, of the distant call of the cicadas. He could no longer feel how tight the stupid dress shirt was, feel his own teeth sitting in his skull. It was nice. Perhaps he should drink more often.)” - unfortunately, a staggering amount of adults with autism use alcoholism to cope with symptoms they have yet to learn how to properly cope with, and to help them better socialize.

- “Just like there’s some stupid part of me that’ll always hope my Ma will turn herself around and start carin’ about me.” - AUGH. The anguish of having abusive parents. Some stupid hard-wired part of your brain is always hopeful they’ll just decide to be good one day.

- “… kids are great like that. They’re made with this…. Hard wired love for their parents.” … “I always thought.. it would be great to take all the love I had saved up for her, all the love she never returned, and… pass it on.” - HE JUST WANTS TO LOVE AND BE LOVED SO BAD OKAY?? I’m not crying you are

- “He titled his head back a bit to look at Adam, in his pajamas, without his glasses, staring the demon down with the most sorrowful expression he’d ever seen on a human being. It hurts worse than the ritual, worse than the glass window, worse than centuries of solitude. This is all you do, Lawrence. You hurt others, and you hurt yourself. His mother’s voice is always in the back of his mind, but it’s so clear now.” - Adam is feeling sympathy and/or empathy, like a normal person, but Beej is taking it as him hurting Adam by being the way that he is.

- “ “B-but they… I could never…” The Maitlands hold him tightly. Barbara gently shushes him, running her fingers through his hair. He didn’t have to finish. She knew. They shared that pain, together. They’d had a long, tearful conversation one night, during their year in the loop. It was the closest he’d ever felt to human, even considering the times he was actually human.” - I will leave this up to interpretation within the confines of Time’s Arrow. I may expand upon it in one of the extra chapters, maybe write out the conversation they had, but for now I will allow readers to come to their own conclusions, since this breaches topics I am currently not fully equipped/educated to write about.

- “ “Maybe you can distribute that love elsewhere.” It wasn’t too bad an idea. But where?” - Delia is suggesting to turn that love inwards, and to maybe also distribute it to Lydia and the Maitlands. But Beej is daft.

- “ “Pink’s a great color on you,” Delia says, patting his cheek before she turns to head back towards the living room. He couldn’t disagree more.” - YOU DESERVE LOVE. CARE IS A GOOD LOOK ON YOU. Oh god he isn’t listening.

- “Sleep finally finds them. They aren’t sure how they made it down into their room, or how they were able to change into a cozy sweatshirt and pair of loose-fitting boxer shorts. But somehow, they did.” - Adam and Barbara carefully and very respectfully helped him change!

- “As they took a wary little sip of the old, undiluted wine,” - Greek wine from waaay back when had to be diluted. Undiluted, it is way too strong and bitter.

- “ “Beetlejuice, when was the last time you drank water?” .. “I had a Dr. Pepper last week.” .. “Who gave you a Dr. Pepper?” “Wh- I’m a grown demon! I can get myself a Dr. Pepper!” Lydia raised an eyebrow at him. He scoffed, looking down at the counter. “Fine. Ash did.” ” - this is both based on a bit from Game Grumps and also a conversation I had with a friend.

- “For that hour before the two of them had to leave, Beetlejuice instead listened. At first it was frantic, confused. Then the conversation was light and breezy. Teasing, joking, excitedly comparing interests. He knew he had to make them meet from the moment Ash mentioned cinematography. Neither of them had many friends other than him, from what he’d heard. And he was sure Ash didn’t consider him a friend regardless. I’m a genius.” - My guy thinks he is the master of meet-cutes. He needs to meet-cut it out and go to therapy. (Next chapter can’t come soon enough…)

- “Their tongue and throat burned with the remains of that horrible sticky, iron taste.” … “Energy, revitalized from this latest sacrifice, buzzed through their whole being..” - Yeah he is accepting sacrifices of human blood from Cyrus’ cult. That is how he is getting the energy and strength to resist the Seal.

- “They desperately grasp Cyrus’ hands. They fumble, head burning and spinning, as they guide his hands to their throat. The demon quirks an eyebrow at them curiously. “Hurt me,” they rasp, their words almost slurring together. “Hurt me like you did before.” ” - DRUNKEN CONSENT IS NOT REAL CONSENT!! Allowing someone to hurt you is not an adequate way to deal with your issues!!

- “As you wish, Pet.” - Sorry I twisted a line from a beloved romance story and made it fucked up. It will not happen again. (It might)

Fun tidbit for making it this far! Here are some TikToks that summarize Ash and Beej’s “friendship”! This, this, and this!

Chapter 10 of Time’s Arrow, “Used to be one of the rotten ones and I liked you for that, Now you're all gone, got your make-up on, and you're not coming back”, is here! Lydia POV time! Sorry it is short… that is for literary purposes.

As always, here are the extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Anthems For A Seventeen Year-Old Girl” by Yeule! Haha, get it? Because this chapter’s from the POV of a 17 year-old demigirl? Also, it is meant to reflect their relationship and her mental space throughout it. The dream-like quality of the song is meant to mirror how confused and adrift Lydia feels here.

- The chapter is much shorter because less happens, and adding the next chapter on to this would make the pacing off, and because Lydia’s POV is very different from Beej’s! Also different from how it used to be. She’s older and more put together, and her thoughts are more concise. She takes less time to ponder than Beej does.

- “And she felt like she couldn’t breathe. … Lydia’s throat burned, which she’d assumed at first was from crying. But now it still ached horribly, and it felt like it was constricting.” … “Lydia’s hand drifted up to her throat. So red. Her hand flinched away as she swore she felt something warm and wet, but there was nothing there.” - Lydia’s connection with Beej is making her feel an echo of what he is currently feeling. It only really happens when something major happens to him, so she didn’t feel every car accident and shin-banging. Just the catastrophic things.

- “Normally, she’d go to Beetlejuice on nights she was plagued with nightmares and insomnia. Either he would curl up at the foot of her bed, or she would join him in his own bed in the basement. His presence somehow always chased the nightmares away.” - Because Beetlejuice always uses his demonic powers to will the nightmares away. Bc he’s a good big brother sometimes.

- “The image of her brother, trembling and snarling, just about frothing at the mouth, hunched over with stark-white hair, growling wildly as he turned and lashed out at- ” - A bit of the physical description we missed out on from Beej’s POV! He looked just as wild as he felt.

- “It was surely one of their… ‘episodes’. They’d been having them less and less as time went on, as they grew and healed and adapted to their own traumas and triggers. (Afterwards, she’d realized it was the yelling and touching of his old back wound that had set him off. It was understandable, she supposed, but still… scary. He’d never lashed out like that before.) She and Adam had theorized it was PTSD, but they couldn’t be sure. The idiot wouldn’t see a therapist.” - Beej was learning and healing and growing, but only so much can be done without professional help.

- “… promising she’d whip him up a healing spell as soon as she could gather the ingredients. (Healing wasn’t her sort of spell. She was more interested in scrying, curses, and hexes, but she was certainly willing to try it out for her father.)” - A peep into Lydia’s studies as a witch! One of the things that is regretfully lost in the last few chapters due to Beej’s spiraling POV. He was having trouble holding on to all the details in his mind.

- “She huffed out a laugh, halting to turn her head and cough.” - Lydia is much more polite than Beej. He would just cough in people’s faces.

- “ “Oh dear.” Delia placed a hand on her chest. “I still have my old inhaler. Do you think that would help?” ” - Delia lore! She had childhood asthma.

- “The morning came at a snail’s pace, but in just a breath at the same time. It was staggering.” - Lydia experiencing a little bit of what Beetlejuice usually did. It is rather upsetting, especially since she’s not used to it.

- “Her girlfriend readily offered a sympathetic listening ear, offering to put up signs for the store and then come to the house to be a sort of moral support. (That’s why she l- liked her so much.)” - Another thing that was regretfully lost with Beetlejuice’s POV is the full development of Lydia and Ash’s relationship. I hope to do an extra side chapter on them in the future! Also she almost slipped up and admitted she loves them here.

- “Pluto and Percy were sat staring at the door, their legs tucked under themselves.” - They could tell something was wrong, and were waiting to be let in to go check.

- “ “H-he left a note,” they eventually managed. ” - This is one of two key differences that sets this version aside from the bad ending: Ash found Beej’s note left for them.

- “If you’re reading this, I have to go away for a while. I don’t know if I’ll be able to bounce back this time. Be nice to Chuck and Delia. Give Adam and Barbara a hug. (I know you hate those, but just one for me, alright?)” - Oops! This accidentally referenced Eda’s speech in “Agony of a Witch” from season one of “The Owl House”.

- “ - Beebleboose’ ” - The curse’s lingering effects still won’t let him say or write his own name.

- “ ‘Go away’? What the hell did that mean? If anything, it read like- Lydia gasped, gripping Ash’s arms as she stood up straight.” - Lydia realized it reads like a suicide note here.

- “ “.. she woke up screaming, calling his name.” Her expression softened with concern, brows creased together. “She was clawing at her throat and begging to come see him, but I was worried it was just… one of her fits. Made her wait it out, see if it would pass. But-” “Wait, ‘clawing at her throat’?” She nodded, some sort of dark fear clouding her eyes. “.. yeah. Saying she couldn’t breathe, that.. something was wrong, that she needed to…” she swallowed hard. “That she needed to see Goose, and she… she couldn’t stand to lose another sibling.” ” - Bela watched a lot of the Shoggoth spawn fall prey to other demons. She is similarly connected to Beetlejuice, but she chose to be since she can tell he’s not very smart and she wanted to keep an eye on him. She felt a more extreme version of what Lydia did, and had an anxiety attack thinking he was dead-dead. She is devastated to think she lost the little brother she just gained.

- “Lydia was startled by the sound of Pluto growling. She’d stopped at the base of the stairs and was now frozen there, back arched and fur standing, her one golden eye round and wild.” - Pluto could sense Cyrus’ lingering vibes, and she decided they were rancid.

- “There. A gentler, hazier voice pulled their awareness to the far wall, where a piece of paper was taped to it.” - This is the insight from her scrying pulling her in the right direction.

- “She lifted the hefty cat up, draping him over her shoulders. Fuck, he’s getting huge.” - No longer a runt, he’s a giant boy now!! He has long fur too.

- “She closed her eyes, speaking the ancient words she’d rehearsed over and over again. She pressed her forehead to Percy’s, feeling the boost in power her familiar granted her flowing through her, buzzing and melodic.” - A peep into a scrying ritual! No blood required, thanks to Percy’s help.

- “She was standing in a pool of blood. It nearly covered the entire basement floor.” Cyrus cleaned up after himself. (Aside from one thing, which we will see in the next chapter)

- “ “B-” Lydia dug deep within herself, finding the rooted connection within her. She tugged hard at the thread that connected them, but found it went slack. Like there was nothing on the other end.” - This thread was referenced in the second chapter of Time’s Arrow, where she used it to find Beetlejuice in the woods. It can’t help her now.

Chapter 13 of Time’s Arrow, “Everything stays, But it still changes, Ever so slightly, daily and nightly, In little ways, when everything stays”, is up! Sorry for the wait!

Here are the extras!

- The lyrics for this chapter’s title are from “Everything Stays” from “Adventure Time”. Thank you Cosmo! The vibe of the song “Today Today” by Jack Stauber really fits this chapter, as I hear the ending as a happy reunion, and I’ve been planning to use it for this chapter for forever. Unfortunately the lyrics don’t fit, so I went with the next best song!

- Beetlejuice’s voice - Beej is experiencing vocal paralysis, a very painful condition. The only really good example I can find of it is Red from “Us”, so I suggest you watch a clip of her speaking to get a good feel of how he sounds if you’d like!

- “Beetlejuice struggled to get back to his hooves, nearly stumbling into a wooden chair that was set up in front of the wall. Where had it come from? Why was is there?” - They brought down one of the dining room chairs and took turns waiting for him.

- “It faded when he realized he couldn’t hear the Maitlands. Try as he might, he could not hear the ambient tone of their souls.” - Now they have a new sound he’s not used to! They’re not actually gone here.

- “She can’t. … She can’t be gone. … She can’t be gone. They both can’t be.” - This is a direct reference to the song “Lima Bean Man” by Jack Stauber, which greatly inspired scenes in this fic.

- “A strange, fuzzy cat stood wide eyed at the bottom of the stairs leading to the second floor, eyes glinting in the darkness. He didn’t have the time to even attempt to try to remember which one of the cats it was when the feline turned and bolted back up the stairs, letting out a strange gargled meow as it went.” - Percy went and alerted Lydia that Beej was back! He is such a good familiar.

- “The man tightened his grip around the demon, lifting their hooves up off the ground as he buried his face in his shoulder. One hand cupped the back of the demon’s head, holding him close.” - FATHER MOMENT. FATHER MOMENT.

- “A strange, newer sort of warmth radiated within him that he didn’t quite recognize.” - THE FIRST TIME TRULY FEELING FATHERLY / PATERNAL LOVE

- “She wore an oversized black hoodie that read “shrimps is bugs” (heheh, that’s too funny, where did she get that?) …” - Lydia wore his hoodie because she missed him. He does not recognize it as his hoodie.

- “Some sort of green glow reflected in her eyes. It took him a few moments to realize it was his hair. (It could turn green? And glow?)” … “He thanked Adam as he set him down, face warm and what strands of his hair he could see tinted orange. (Orange too? Weird.)” - yeah, he doesn’t remember that his hair changes color.

- “ “Why don’t you sign instead, son?” The memories were shaky at best. His head was full of fog, any words just barely registering.” - Beej is not mentally present enough to register that Charles called him ‘son’ multiple times. He will freak out later.

- “(Why were his fingers tinted blueish-purple?)” - oof…

- “Beetlejuice let out an involuntary little giggle as the life coach pressed a kiss to his forehead, her cherry chapstick leaving a light smudge. She swiftly released him, hands gripping his shoulders. “Don’t you ever do that again, young man!” “Ne-nei-eith-ther young-ng nor a ma-man,” he quipped.” - two call backs to earlier Delia interactions!!

- “Their eyes had a faint glow to them in the dim light, like his own.” - they have the reflective cat eyes like Beej does!

- “(What? No. Focus!) … Even more freckles spread across her nose and beautiful rosy cheeks- gah! Focus!” - Even when he can’t remember his partners, he, as one of my mutuals put it, “is too in love”.

- Barbara and Adam’s demon forms - Barbara is based on a fallow deer, Adam is based on a sika deer! They have spots on their legs that are currently covered by their pajama pants.

- “Beetlejuice briefly put a hand to his throat. The external wound was certainly already healed, but…” - It definitely left a scar btw :)

- “Beetlejuice scowled down at his shaking legs, then glanced at his sister and f-… Charles, who were gently holding his arms to help him stay upright.” - HE ALMOST CALLED HIM HIS FATHER

- “Curiosity got the better of him after he’d managed to put on a pair of pajama pants with a weird little emo looking creature on them.” - These are the Kuromi pajamas he got on Lydia’s birthday.

- “He couldn’t get down on his knees, but he could rest very low on his haunches.” - Thanks to my discord pals for helping me figure out the logistics of Beej begging on his knees with sheep legs.

- “Lovebug, sweetie, we’ve been planning to do this for a while.” - SHOUT OUT TO ANYONE WHO CAUGHT THE HINTS ABOUT THIS! I’ve been sprinkling them in since the latter half of Time is a Flat Circle!

- “Beetlejuice could not remember what the food Delia had prepared for them was called. He downed it happily. It was crunchy and soft and savory and salty, and all around wonderful.” - Panini melts! Thank you Cosmo

- “The movie is peaceful and beautiful and romantic, and he’s warm and - ” - It’s “The Princess Bride” :))

- “But it certainly wasn’t a tall, muscular teen, with hair dyed in blonde, black, and red patches.” - it’s called calico hair! Ash went through a crisis while Beej was gone.

- “Lydia softly cleared her throat, stepping back from the other teen. “Beej, why don’t you give Ash a hug?” ” - Lydia could tell Beej was struggling to remember here.

- “Beetlejuice couldn’t help but laugh as he released them, taking a step back to give them space.” - Beetlejuice is assuming Ash doesn’t want a long hug, and Ash is assuming Beetlejuice doesn’t want a long hug. But they both do!!

- “He caught sight of them swiftly wiping the wetness from both their eyes.” - Ash really missed Beej, but they know they’ve probably had an emotional day and don’t want another person crying about how they’re back.

Tag list: @raineisinkless @c0zmo-writes @musical-fiend @katslitterbox

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